Drop-In Daycare in California
Daycares that offer drop-in care in California, town by town. Pick a town below, or search by town or ZIP.
- daycares that offer drop-in care listed
- 202
- towns
- 122
- towns have their own drop-in daycare page
- 16
- of all California daycares
- 1%
Map of California: each dot is a town with daycares that offer drop-in care, sized by how many are listed
California
Largest towns for drop-in daycare in California
Programs
Programs in California
Counts come from the state record and what each daycare says it offers. A daycare without a tag may still offer the program; ask.
| Program | Listed |
|---|---|
| All daycares | 25,828 |
| Take infants | 2,521 |
| Child care centers | 10,951 |
| Accept subsidy | 462 |
| In-home daycares | 14,877 |
| Christian & church daycares | 959 |
| Montessori schools | 1,064 |
| Preschools & pre-K | 3,768 |
| Early morning daycare | 1,135 |
| Part-time daycare | 816 |
| Drop-in daycare | 202 |
| After-school care | 1,529 |
| Bilingual daycare | 512 |
| Head Start | 1,403 |
The California state record
California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division licenses daycares in California.
- License list
- The state's public list of licensed child care
- Ages served
- The ages on each license
- Inspections
- Every visit the state publishes back to 2021
- Cited rules
- Citation counts as the state reports them
- Corrections
- Correction dates as the state records them
Before you enroll
Using drop-in care in California
- 1
Register before you need it
Most drop-in care needs forms and records on file first. Ask what to send before the first visit.
- 2
Ask how to book
Ask how far ahead to book a drop-in day, and whether spots depend on who is absent that day.
- 3
Ask how it charges
Ask whether drop-in care is by the hour, half day or day, and if there is a minimum.
- 4
Visit once first
A short visit helps your child settle. Ask whether you can stay for the first hour.
California
Cost, inspections and ratios in California
A to Z
All 122 California towns with drop-in daycare, A to Z
A2 towns
- Agoura Hills1 offer drop-in
- Atherton1 offer drop-in
B6 towns
- Bakersfield3 offer drop-in
- Bell Gardens1 offer drop-in
- Berkeley2 offer drop-in
- Brentwood1 offer drop-in
- Brisbane1 offer drop-in
- Burlingame1 offer drop-in
C11 towns
- Campbell1 offer drop-in
- Carmichael1 offer drop-in
- Chico2 offer drop-in
- Chula Vista2 offer drop-in
- Citrus Heights2 offer drop-in
- Colma1 offer drop-in
- Corona1 offer drop-in
- Corte Madera1 offer drop-in
- Costa Mesa1 offer drop-in
- Culver City1 offer drop-in
- Cupertino1 offer drop-in
D6 towns
- Daly City1 offer drop-in
- Danville2 offer drop-in
- Diamond Bar2 offer drop-in
- Diamond Springs1 offer drop-in
- Dove Canyon1 offer drop-in
- Dublin1 offer drop-in
E7 towns
F6 towns
- Fairfax2 offer drop-in
- Folsom1 offer drop-in
- Fountain Valley1 offer drop-in
- French Camp1 offer drop-in
- Fresno1 offer drop-in
- Fullerton1 offer drop-in
G4 towns
- Garden Grove1 offer drop-in
- Gardena1 offer drop-in
- Gilroy1 offer drop-in
- Glendora1 offer drop-in
H2 towns
- Hayward1 offer drop-in
- Huntington Beach1 offer drop-in
I1 town
- Irvine3 offer drop-in
K2 towns
- Kensington1 offer drop-in
- Kentfield1 offer drop-in
L8 towns
- La Canada1 offer drop-in
- Laguna Niguel1 offer drop-in
- Lancaster3 offer drop-in
- Larkspur1 offer drop-in
- Lathrop1 offer drop-in
- Los Altos3 offer drop-in
- Los Angeles9 offer drop-in
- Los Gatos2 offer drop-in
M9 towns
- Marina1 offer drop-in
- Meadow Vista1 offer drop-in
- Mendocino1 offer drop-in
- Mill Valley1 offer drop-in
- Milpitas2 offer drop-in
- Mission Viejo1 offer drop-in
- Modesto2 offer drop-in
- Monrovia1 offer drop-in
- Moreno Valley2 offer drop-in
N2 towns
- National City1 offer drop-in
- Newark1 offer drop-in
O5 towns
P7 towns
- Pacifica2 offer drop-in
- Palmdale1 offer drop-in
- Palo Alto1 offer drop-in
- Pasadena4 offer drop-in
- Pleasant Hill1 offer drop-in
- Port Hueneme1 offer drop-in
- Poway1 offer drop-in
R4 towns
- Redlands1 offer drop-in
- Redwood City1 offer drop-in
- Rocklin1 offer drop-in
- Rohnert Park1 offer drop-in
S26 towns
- S. Pasadena1 offer drop-in
- Sacramento4 offer drop-in
- San Diego7 offer drop-in
- San Francisco11 offer drop-in
- San Jose6 offer drop-in
- San Leandro2 offer drop-in
- San Luis Obispo1 offer drop-in
- San Mateo4 offer drop-in
- San Pedro1 offer drop-in
- San Rafael2 offer drop-in
- Santa Ana2 offer drop-in
- Santa Barbara5 offer drop-in
- Santa Clara3 offer drop-in
- Santa Cruz3 offer drop-in
- Santa Maria1 offer drop-in
- Santa Monica1 offer drop-in
- Santa Rosa3 offer drop-in
- Santa Ynez1 offer drop-in
- Saratoga1 offer drop-in
- Shingle Springs1 offer drop-in
- Simi Valley2 offer drop-in
- Sonoma1 offer drop-in
- Sonora1 offer drop-in
- South Pasadena1 offer drop-in
- South San Francisco1 offer drop-in
- Sunnyvale1 offer drop-in
U1 town
- Upland1 offer drop-in
V7 towns
W1 town
- Walnut Creek2 offer drop-in
Y2 towns
- Yorba Linda1 offer drop-in
- Yucca Valley1 offer drop-in
No town on this list matches. Check the spelling, or search by ZIP code above.
Nearby
Nearby states
Questions
Questions about drop-in daycare in California
How many daycares that offer drop-in care are in California?
202 daycares that offer drop-in care are listed in 122 California towns. A daycare not on this list may still take drop-ins; ask.
Which California town has the most daycares that offer drop-in care?
San Francisco, with 11 listed. Next are Los Angeles (9) and San Diego (7).
What is drop-in daycare?
Care when you need it, without a regular weekly schedule. Each daycare sets its own rules: ask whether you must register your child first, how far ahead to book, and whether it charges by the hour, half day or day.
Who licenses daycares in California?
California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division licenses daycares in California. It publishes its inspections with the citation counts, and we copy them onto each listing.